The International Motor Show in Frankfurt from 1973 to 1979
Summary
The 1970s began with a bang for the IAA, as the biennial exhibition was canceled! The German Association of the Automotive Industry had canceled the event for reasons of economy. Not only this, but also the increasing number of new products presented away from public events led to many a discussion about the necessity of such exhibition concepts. The energy crisis was certainly the defining event of the 1970s. The imperative to produce economical and ever cleaner vehicles became an important topic in the seventies. But the political continuum between the absolute demonization of the car and the uncritical belief in progress also influenced developments between 1971 and 1979. This report summarizes the events, innovations and environment of the IAA from 1973 to 1979 and is richly illustrated with 64 pictures.
This article contains the following chapters
- 1973 - the car in the maelstrom of political controversy
- 1975 - The car on the upswing - living better with the car
- 1977 - from whipping boy to darling of the economy
- 1979 - less consumption through more technology
Estimated reading time: 12min
Preview (beginning of the article)
The 1970s began with a bang for the IAA, as the biennial exhibition was canceled in 1971! The German Association of the Automotive Industry had canceled the event for reasons of economy. Not only this, but also the increasing number of new products presented away from public events led to many a discussion about the necessity of such exhibition concepts. The energy crisis was certainly the defining event of the 1970s. The imperative to produce economical and ever cleaner vehicles became an important topic in the seventies. But the political continuum between absolute demonization of the car and uncritical belief in progress also influenced developments between 1971 and 1979.
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